Improvement in recovery of spirits from spent charcoal of rectifying-filters



- I E. A. MOKEEVER. v RECOVERY OF SPIRIT FROM SPENT CHARCOAL OFRECTIFYING- FILTERS;

No, 194,256, Patented-Aug .14,1877.

a wiinesasaes menial" NPEI'ERS. PHOTO-LITHOGRAPMER. WASHINGTON. Dr C,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD A. MGKEEVER, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN RECOVERY OF SPIRITS FROM SPENT CHARCOAL OFRECTIFYING-FILTERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 194,256, dated August14, 1877 application filed May 5, 1877.

To all whom it may concern Beit known that I, EDWARD A. MoKEEvER, ofPhiladelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania,have invented a certain new and useful Process and Apparatus forExtracting Spirits from Spent Ooal used by Rectifiers, and for otherpurposes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it pertains to make and use it, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification, inWhich- Figures 1 and 2 arelongitudinal vertical sec tions of myinvention.

In the process of rectifying alcoholic liquors the spiritsare passedthrough a filter of charcoal, by which the i'usel-oil is absorbed andthe rectification effected. After the filtering material becomes spent,and will no longer act, it is found that a considerable quantity ofspirits has been taken up, which it is desirable to recover. Thisrecovery has heretofore been accomplished by washing the filteringmaterial, but only to a limited extent. After the most thorough washingan odor of spirit remains, indicating the.presence of absorbed liquor.

The object of this invention is to recover the spirits remaining afterthe washing; and it consists in first thoroughly drying the unwashed orwashed spent coal, and then passing live steam through it. The livesteam takes up the spirit, which is in a gaseous or vaporized form, andcarries it 05 to a condenser or still. By this process I have been ableto save about one gallon of spirits to the bag of the washed spentcharcoal.

In the accompanying drawing, which repre sents an apparatus foraccomplishing this process, A designates a cylindrical vessel ofsuitable capacity, the bowl of which is surrounded by a steam-jacket, B,andprovided with a suitable cover or cap, 0.

D is a steam-pipe leading into the steamspace B, and D is a similar pipeentering the bowl through the center of the bottom. Both pipes areconnected by a tube, E, and all three provided with stop-cocks d d c, asshown.

D is a branch or continuation of the pipe D, leading from the boiler andsupplying the bowl and steamjacket therefrom. The inlet to the bowl mayterminate in a perforated nipple or manifold jet, f.

The spent material to be treated according to this process is placed inthe bowl, which is then covered, and a supply of steam admitted to thejacket; or the jacket may be first heated by the steam. The coal is thenallowed to become heated by the surrounding steam until all the moisturethat can be so driven 0E is removed in the form of vapor, and the coalhas become, so to speak, dry. The steam is then shut off from the jacketand live steam admitted directly to the mass of coal, through which itrises, and takes up with it all the spirit remainingin the coal.Duringthe whole process the vapor rising from the coal passes offthrough the outlet G to the still. At first the spirit is of high proof,the same being the most easily vaporized, and consequently the earliestto escape. As the process continues the strength of spirit decreases,and may even reach onetenth of one per cent.

To facilitate the drying of the coal when the quantity is large, Isometimes employ the device marked H, which consists of a blind tube, h,and a perforated disk or plate, h. The latter rests on lugs or on thelower half of the coal, which is both above and below the disk. Thesteam rising from the lower mass ascends partly through the pipe andradiates heat from the center. The steam ascending outside the pipepasses through the perforations.

K is a pipe, having a stop-cock, J, to drain the steam-jacket.

This process is applicable, under the same conditions as described, tothe extraction of spirits from any kind of fruit which has been used inflavoring spirits, and which has therefore become saturated with thelatter.

I am aware that the use of steam for the purpose of revivifying spentcharcoal and recovering alcohol therefromis not broadly new. In order,therefore, that I may not be understood as claiming more than the stateof. the art justifies, I limit myself to the specific process described,which consists in first drying the spent charcoal by external heat untilall or substantially all the spirits that can be so evaporated haveescaped, and then admitting to the dried mass a current of live'steam',so

as 'to' remove vvl'iat'ever spirit remains after evaporation.

It is essential that the drying take place before the live steam isadmitted, so that concharcoal.

Having described my invention, lolaim -w 1. The process for the recoveryof spirits from spent charcoal or other material, consisting in heatingand drying the absorbent, and

then subjecting it to theaction of live steam, substantially asdescribed.

2. The plate h and tube h, in combination with the vessel A, asdescribed.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing 1 have hereunto set my handthis2d day of May, 187 7 EDWARD A. MOKEEV'ER.

Witnesses:

T. A. UONNOLLY, CHAS. F. VAN HORN.

